AFCC 2017 had a charming activity that was open to the public. Pick up a public programme and explore the book fair, programme in hand. As you visit each stall, get your book fair map stamped. If you're among the first 20 to get all the stamps, you win a book voucher worth ten dollars!Walking through the book fair reminded me of all the times my parents took me to bookshops - and once, to a book-ship. This time, I was drawn more to the picture books than anything else, and I ended up buying one picture book and one chapter book. Both were simply lovely!Shortlisted for the AFCC Asian Children's Book Award by Genting Singapore, Don't Be Sorry, Dad! is now right up there with my favourite picture books. Little Nari loves time with her dad, but he keeps apologising to her because there are many things he cannot do, unlike other dads. … [Read more...]
Reflections: AFCC 2017
The first two days of the Asian Festival of Children' Content were the highlights for me, but sessions here and there stood out too. On the first day of the teachers' congress, I attended a lovely session on reading and empathy conducted by Maria Alessandrino. More than the first half of the session, I thoroughly enjoyed the second half, where we went through all kinds of books that build empathy in the reader. I have a whole new list of books that I am waiting to get my hands on. I ended up buying just one of the books Maria recommended - Where's Grandma? - and I loved it!Here are a few others I want to read ... ... I could go on and on and on!Another session I loved was Elaine Fong's talk on reading in the digital age. Much of what she said does not apply to me in my reading programmes because we don't have a public library system in … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day Two at AFCC 2017
This is probably the only time in my life when I signed a contract, committing to playing Illustrationary, the AFCC version of Pictionary, at a certain date and time. But when have I not enjoyed a game of Pictionary? I'm getting ahead of myself, though, because the highlight of the day was my book launch!This charming little place called My Treehouse was where I launched Bholu and the Smart Card, the fifth in my series of railway adventures for young readers.I began with a Connect the Dots activity, which everyone loved, much to my delight. I enjoyed it too, and was thrilled to see people from so many different countries come together there. Indonesia, Australia, Kenya, Singapore ... It was so exciting! The challenge, though, was that I had a slot at the same time as the launch of the winning Scholastic picture books, so I did not have as large an audience … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day One at AFCC 2017
When I went for the Asian Festival of Children's Content last year, I wondered when - and whether - I would go again. Yes, it was a wonderful experience, but Singapore ... Again ... Expensive, and all that. But my paper 'Writing about Us' was accepted through the call for entries and then, how could I not go?I began by attending a lively session on taking self-promotion back by Amy Ng. I particularly enjoyed the section on how not to write a query letter (and was mightily relieved to find that I've never written one of those!). She spoke about fairly familiar ideas, though, so it was more about reinforcement than learning something new. The big take-away was important, as always - don't network for the sake of networking! That's when it feels icky and forced!Petra Nagyová Džerengová's session on death, divorce and other difficult topics was lovely too. What struck … [Read more...]
Guest of Honour, Global Indian International School, Chinchwad
It was an honour to be part of the investiture ceremony at Global Indian International School, Chinchwad! With the chief guest as the ex mayor of Pune, Prashant Jagtap, it was a privilege to be the guest of honour!One of the first things that warmed my heart was the fact that I was welcomed with a tulsi sapling rather than a bouquet. Bouquets make me sad because of how soon they die. My sapling, on the other hand, is going to be with me for a while!I was also struck by the attention to detail, the kind I witness in old schools like Mary's. It was lovely to see the entire choir standing in the same way - right hand over the left wrist. Such simple things form the core of aesthetics!I remember how wonderful it felt to receive the flag of St. Patrick's house. Handing the flags to the proud new prefects, I felt a surge of the same emotions.The reason … [Read more...]
The Lit Bug Fest 2017
Do you see all the red marks? That's what I attended at the Lit Bug Fest yesterday!The first event of the day was a play written by a young girl and performed by Pushkar Rangmanch. A sweet story, performed with enthusiasm!A few months ago, I invited Leela Gour Broome to address the Writers' Club at St. Mary's. Yesterday, I watched how she told a story to children of varied ages. I also watched Kakoli Bagchi tell a story for the first time. With lovely little puppets, they brought Mrs Broome's story Red Kite Adventure to life! After that, she told the story of a shiny red ball that travels the globe ... I enjoyed the story as much as the children did!My event was next on the agenda, and I loved it! I did have a wide range of children there, and I'm afraid the older children weren't as involved as the younger ones, but all in all, it was such … [Read more...]
Reading Camp
A new set of children and a new set of activities ...I was invited to conduct a reading camp for children in a society, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly! From word search puzzles to skits and storytelling, we packed as much as we could into eight hours. As always, the children were an enthusiastic bunch, willing to do everything together, without once complaining that they were bored or that reading was dull. … [Read more...]
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece
As Gratiano didn't quite say, I love this book, and 'tis my love that speaks.I loved the book, but I did have issues with it - issues that made shuffle uncomfortably.As I read My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, I think the first thing that startled me was the imagery that seems to compare Sunya to a present and her hijab to sparkly wrapping paper. Honestly, I don't know why the line bothered me so much. It seems so inoffensive there, not really objectifying, not really saying anything that could be so disconcerting. But I think that exactly was the problem for me - that there was nothing wrong with thinking about a person like a present, an object.The second thing that bothered me was the way Jamie wants to defend someone his father calls a 'Paki'. She may not be a Paki. That made all kinds of bells ring within me. I remembered a piece I read about a … [Read more...]
The Lit Bug Fest
How many of us are familiar with Bholu the guard-elephant, mascot of the Indian Railways? Join me on an exploration of a series of railway adventures that will take us on thrilling train journeys all over India. Every story is accompanied by a unique activity – ranging from jigsaw puzzles and colouring books for young children, to building your own steam locomotive for older children. Listen to a story at the Lit Bug Fest, and discover the wonder of the railways!" slug="The-Lit-Bug-Fest-29-Apr-2017" order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]The Lit Bug Fest is just around the corner, and I'm delighted to be part of it. With my series of railway adventures, I hope to have and exciting session with children of all ages. … [Read more...]
The month ahead
There's so much around the corner!This month, apart from all the regular workshops, I'm going to be part of The Lit Bug Fest!The Lit Bug Fest is a children's literary fest to be held on the 29th of April at Persistent Systems, Bhageerath, Senapati Bapat Road. It is an all-day event, and I'm looking forward to it!In May, I have wonderful things in store for me too. I'm going to be speaking at the Asian Festival of Children's Content, Singapore.The first one on the list is Pictionary by another name. I can't quite believe that I'm going to Singapore to officially play Pictionary. The second is a panel discussion, which I'm looking forward to ... We're going to be talking about diversity and inclusiveness, and the challenges we face while writing in Asia - in English or in other languages.I'm also going to be doing an official international launch for the first … [Read more...]